How the FRM^® Exam Is Changing in 2020

Posted by: Kaplan Schweser
Published: November, 2019

The Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) has announced changes to the FRM^® Exam in 2020 to help candidates stay current on the essential knowledge and skills required of a financial risk management professional. Study materials and knowledge areas for Part I of the exam have been updated, and the fee is increasing. Part II has a new section and new topic weights. Let’s take a closer look at how the FRM Exam is changing.

Changes to Part I of the FRM^® Exam

Much of the content in Part I of the exam has changed. All knowledge areas have been updated, especially in the sections on Foundations of Risk Management and Quantitative Analysis. GARP has also made the material clearer and more concise, so there are now 60 readings in the 2020 FRM Part I curriculum instead of 69, and 59 have been rewritten. GARP SMEs wrote the new content in-house, so it is no longer a collection of readings from various risk management textbooks and authors. As a result, Learning Objectives have new content designed to increase their effectiveness.

All topics in the FRM Part I curriculum are featured in a new custom eBook that exam candidates will receive after registering. GARP will send them an email about how to access the eBook, which will also be available for purchase in print.

In addition, the Part I registration fees are increasing as follows:

• Early—$825 (USD)
• Standard—$950 (USD)
• Late—$1125 (USD)

Are you thinking about taking the financial risk manager exam? Download the free Before You Sit for the FRM^® Exam ebook for invaluable advice from successful FRM professionals about answering FRM exam questions.

Changes to Part II of the FRM^® Exam

The FRM Part II exam has a new Liquidity and Treasury Risk section, and the previous Operational Risk section is now called Operational Risk and Resiliency. Because of the new section, the topic weights for Part II have changed as follows:

• Market Risk Measurement and Management—20% (vs. 25% in 2019)
• Credit Risk Measurement and Management—20% (vs. 25% in 2019)
• Operational Risk and Resiliency—20% (vs. 25% for Operational Risk in 2019)
• Liquidity and Treasury Risk Management and Measurement—15%
• Risk Management and Investment Management—15% (unchanged)
• Current Issues in Financial Markets—10% (unchanged)

In addition, other areas of the FRM Part II curriculum were updated to reflect the new liquidity and treasury risk section and the refocus of operational risk to include resiliency. Plus, the Current Issues section has been substantially revised. There are 101 readings in the 2020 Part II curriculum as a result. 34 of these are new. (Get tips on how to answer Part II questions on these topics in this article.)

Study Guides Available from GARP

To help candidates understand what has been updated, these four guides are available for download from the GARP website:

• Candidate Guide
• Study Guide
• Study Guide Changes
• Learning Objectives

For more details on the changes to the FRM Exam and its requirements, read our exam FAQ article.

Thinking about Taking the FRM^® Exam in 2020?

Because of the changes to Part I and Part II of the FRM exam, it is important to have the most up-to-date study materials. Learn more here.